Sink or Swim
by KavanLostWings
Summary: "Will you just hold still dammit! Humans Float!" The body flailed around some more, "Yeah well I didn't float five seconds ago!" Zero grunted, "That's because you're moving around like an idiot." / Zeki, fluff.


Sink or Swim

Couple: Zeki, implied Zero x Yuuki.

Type: One-shot.

Set: Before the events of Yuuki being revealed as a Pureblood, sometime within the spaces of the manga chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or the franchise's respective characters.

* * *

Zero Kiryu was beyond exasperated at this point.

Keeping his demeanor calm and composed, the boy watched with unimpressed lilac orbs as his best friend began to flail around in the crystal clear water, with shouts of help blaring like annoying alarm clocks in his ears. For the seventh time in a span of two minutes. Zero pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, wading over to the distressed girl in the water. His face scrunching every time a wave—caused by the flailing lunatic a few inches away from him - traveled a bit too high for his liking, freezing him in a place he'd rather not be frozen.

His right brow twitched a bit, his body next to the others after a short moment.

"Would you just calm down?" The boy hissed after narrowly dodging an elbow aimed at his face, his fingers snapping up to catch the runaway limb. Only for it to jerk back and swing at his nose once more. Zero scowled and snatched the girl's wrist, jerking her to a halt. "Stop moving dammit, humans float!"

"I didn't float five minutes ago," Yuuki mumbled, her body shivering at the memory before she began trying to ease her body into relaxing with the aid of Zero's hand holding her arm. The cool water of the lake was surrounding her in a smothering embrace, but she tried to steady her breathing, focusing on the task at hand. Her slender pale legs slid through the chilly waters towards the skies above, her back descending backwards hesitantly. She was attempting to float on her back for the hundredth time that day, but every time her body reached a horizontal position fear would begin to attack her core, panic setting in. It was like the lake would pull her under the surface and swallow her whole, its seaweed fingers enclosing around her petite frame. It scared her and honestly, she hated being so easily frightened. It was bad enough that she had to rely on Zero all the time, adding being a complete wuss to the list didn't exactly help her self-esteem. She was so useless…she closed her eyes, and let the cool air brush over her exposed forehead.

"That was because you were jerking around like an idiot," Zero stated in a very blunt manner, his strong hand sliding down her arm to rest on the small of her back to keep her steady. Yuuki's eyes peeked open at the sensation, but she managed to stay plaint, only huffing at his reply before choosing to ask something else instead, "What if I sink?"

She heard him sigh, the hot sun basking on her legs while her upper half remained in the shade of the opposing trees bent over the lake like its own personal umbrella. "If you sink, I'll just pull up again." There was a pause and then her ears were rewarded with Zero's gentle strum of a voice again, "I wouldn't let anything happen to you, ever."

At his words, she felt something electric slid around inside her abdomen, her large eyes going wide. It was embarrassing to hear him say that, but even more so to know that she had needed him to say that. She was completely and utterly nervous about this whole ordeal, her stomach plummeting at the very idea of what she was attempting to accomplish. Zero was her reassurance. Yuuki had grown up without an actual parental figure and with that; she'd always been too busy trying to find her place than to worry about minimal things. With her memory loss and disheartening fears, to her, learning how to swim was minimal. And so, she had never bothered to learn how to swim. When her and Zero finally got to High School, that quickly turned into a nuisance. A humiliating nuisance, at that. She had been forced to reject an uncountable numbers of invitations to the beach and people had started to gossip about her more than usual. The daily rumor that she harbored a superiority complex towards her fellow classmates cut deep. So, she had decided that she would have to learn how to swim or the entire student body would forever consider her an outcast. But after almost drowning a couple of times in the private Cross Academy pool, she'd realized that swimming wasn't something you just learned on your own. She had reluctantly admitted to herself that she would need someone to teach her.

Yuuki had contemplated about asking Yori to teach her at first, but she hadn't been certain whether or not the girl would be able to save her from drowning if things went south. Granted the quiet girl was strong for her size, but she was still petite, like her. If she'd actually start panicking in the water, she knew she'd probably just get them both killed. She highly doubted anyone would appreciate that. So Yori was crossed off the list of possible teachers.

Her next plan had been to ask one of the other day class students. Then, she'd realized how much they – especially the night class fangirls– would make fun of her if they knew she couldn't swim. She'd be the laughing stock of the school and it would undoubtedly get back to Kaname-sempai. Yuuki knew she would never live it down and it just wasn't worth the risk. She was already ill suited for her crush; she didn't need to give him another reason not to like her. And with that logic, Kaname was also crossed off the list.

So it had fell upon her last resort, the thought of asking him had made her squirm, but in the end, she had asked Zero to help her. He was strong, calm, smart, and he had saved her from drowning before when they had went on a family vacation. It was an accident where she fell in the river and she was _not _reliving it. So in theory, he was the ideal man for the job, the perfect choice. But unfortunately she had forgotten one very important aspect about Zero: He was an extremely attractive male. Due to her slip of the mind, she hadn't considered the extremely distracting image known as Zero in very low hung swim trunks.

His shorts were black and simple, fitting his athletic body perfectly. The sun, which slipped through the cracks in the leaves above, created beautiful highlights in his damp, silver hair, and the strands that seemed to dangle in his eyes flickered in the specks of light. Yuuki suddenly noticed that his eyes were the exact same shade of purple as the lilacs resting a bit off the shore of the lake. He was stunning and tremendously attention grabbing. In the back of her mind, she knew he always had been, but right now she was rendered speechless. A weird warmth slinking into her heart as she recalled how that same man was always the one to hold her above water…literally and metaphorically.

"Concentrate," Zero suddenly said with a frown, pulling Yuuki out of her strange thoughts. "Close your eyes and let the water lift you up."

Yuuki nodded quickly, a small burn residing in her cheeks, and she leaned back in the water again, closing her eyes. With the help of Zero's urging and skilled hands she managed to make her body float, her tiny feet reaching the surface. She still felt like she'd sink any minute, but she managed to keep her body still.

"You're doing well," Zero praised. "Just keep doing that and you'll be fine."

Yuuki nodded again, listening to the calming sound of his voice. Smooth and familiar. Her body soon grew accustomed to the chilly water, and the summer sun was warming up her limp legs. The more she relaxed, the more confident she felt. Zero had been right; not that he wasn't ninety-nine percent of the time. She'd have to thank him properly sometime in the future, but for now, she'd settle with a verbal sound of gratitude. She smiled, slowly opening her doe eyes to peer up at her teacher, a soft gleam apparent against her knowledge.

"Hey, Zero, thanks for the-"

Her eyes were met with an empty scenery.

Zero was no longer by her side. She gasped in shock; panic quickly seizing a hold of her body. Before she knew it, her head was beneath the water, her surroundings murky and rays of light piercing through the dark blue in her vision. She tried to keep herself floating but the water was against her. Seconds later she was so disoriented that she couldn't figure out what was up and down. Her body was spinning in a circle, and she felt cold and terrified. Where is Zero, she thought, a frenzy of worry taking over her mind at same moment her emotions stabbed through her, I'm drowning! I'm going to die, where is Zero, I'm dy-

Two strong hands grabbed Yuuki under her arms and dragged her up through the water, her head breaking the surface and gulps of fresh air invaded her welcoming lungs.

"You're useless. The water is shallow enough to reach my hip, you're not_ that_ short."

Yuuki let out an indignant scoff of protest, her eyes wide and frantic from her near death experience, but Zero didn't give her a chance to speak. "You could have just stood up," He said, once again by her side, his fingers curling around her hip to give her support. But the woman gave the digits no second thought.

She just glared, anger pouring from her eyes, "what the heck?" Yuuki practically yelled, her heart still pounding hard in her chest. "Where did run off to? I could have drowned and you weren't there!"

Zero stared at her for a minute before he rolled his eyes and shrugged. "You were floating on your own. I didn't think you needed me to be right there." He explained calmly—much to Yuuki's irritation— a hint of a scowl playing on his lips. "I was literally just a few feet away. It's not like I would let anything happen to you, you were doing fine."

Yuuki clenched her jaw, trying to get her heavy breathing under control. She knew what he said was true, but she still felt horribly abandoned. Lowering her feet back on the lake bed, she wiggled her toes beneath the sand, reassuring herself that she was okay, but her legs were still feeling a bit shaky. She shook her wet hair out of her eyes and huffed, eyeing Zero. As much as she loved spending time with her silver headed companion, his impenetrable composure was grating on her nerves. Here she was making a fool out of herself while he was being simply being Zero: cool and horribly collected. A look passed across her features.

"Are you sulking now? You're acting like a kid," Zero scolded, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "You're a guardian of the school; you protect the school from _vampires_. It's hard to believe you're my partner, you don't act like it."

Yuuki's patience snapped like a fragile twig. She took an angry stomp forward, her glare shifting into something more defensive. She hated being looked down upon…especially by him. She cared more than she'd like to admit what he thought of her. _I don't want to get in his way. _"There two things you should know about me as a guardian, Zero!" She said, her voice louder than thunder as she swiftly approached him, "The first thing is that I always avoid unnecessary risks." Pointing her finger at the water between them, she continued, "This is an unnecessary risk!"

Zero stood frozen in place, unsure how to react to the sudden change of atmosphere. But then he seemed to catch something in her expression because he suddenly was staring at her in a way that left her breathless. "What's the second thing?" Zero asked, his tone completely unfazed.

"The second thing you need to know about me," she continued, placing two fiery palms on her hips, "is that when I try, I try my hardest! Now I'm not leaving here until I know how to swim—and neither are you!"

Lilac hues bored into chocolate brown, one set riddled with determination and the other smoldering with amusement. They stayed like that for a moment before Zero broke the stare down, only to suddenly move forward. It was then Yuuki realized, in her mad rant, she had moved no more than a foot away from him. Blinking her eyes in rapid confusion, she found her cheeks suddenly cupped in Zero's cool palms, her head tipped back at an angle to stare at Zero's face smiling down at hers. The sight made her heart skip a beat and not for the first time. As he leaned down, a memory flashed behind her vision.

_A face, as beautiful as sculpted marble, turned to face her in an air of complete serenity, "What am I to you, Yuuki?"__The wind had flew through his hair at the moment, brushing her own away from her face as his scent invaded her senses. And she hadn't been able to come up with an intelligent answer. She knew what her answer should've been; she should've said he was her brother and best friend. But the words couldn't leave her lips, it didn't feel right. So she was left standing there, as he walked away, wondering what he meant to her. And wonder why her mind kept replaying the moment he had almost kissed her._

_He had been so warm._

Her eyes had slipped shut without any conscious effort, warm air drawing her petal mouth in, closer and closer. Flesh brushing against her own, just barely.

_So close_.

Her lips puckered slightly.

"You need to tip your head back, or you'll never float." Yuuki blinked her eyes open, staring at the male that was still so close to her that she could spot little flecks of silver in his amethyst pools. At this rate she was going to have a heart attack and she wouldn't have to worry about swimming.

"O-oh right!" Gulping back her nerves, she dipped her head back into the water. A small tremble in her veins.

The boy hovering above her narrowed his eyes into an annoyed glare, and she shrunk a bit on the inside. "You need to relax." He reminded her, but as she tried to do as she was told, she failed, miserably.

"Like that?" She questioned, even though she was aware she was not relaxed at all. She felt him move and she twisted her head to look at him, only for his lips to connect solidly to her cheek. Her heart exploded and her limbs sporadically became jelly. With her suddenly limp on her back, she was floating without a care in the world. The entire time his lips still searing into her heart.

When Zero pulled away, Yuuki's cheeks were flushed in a deep shade of pink, her body suspended successfully in the water. She should have been celebrating…but she was too busy trying to slow down her heartbeat with pure will power. He was so close and she...she had wanted him to…move a little to the right.

Her pink cheeks deepened into a brilliant red.

"I told you that you needed to relax," he said, a smug glint in eyes of purple ember, "Idiot."

Zero turned around and started wading through the water before she could utter a reply, heading back towards the beach. Before leaving the water, he decided to cast a final glance over his shoulder. Yuuki eyes met his and she was still floating in place, staring at him in shock. She knew her lips were parted and the blush on her cheeks had deepened even more in color with no hope of returning to its normal complexion any time soon. She could feel it burn through her skin. Zero's mouth parted in a small smile and her gaze immediately locked in on the enticing curve and it hit her like a ton of bricks.

_What do I meant to you, Yuuki?__  
_  
**Ba-bump.**

She splashed into an upright position and started jogging after the silver haired teen, the liquid sloshing around her thighs. "You jerk, I'm not an idiot!" She shouted, a wide grin taking her lips. "And wait for me!" As she chased after the forever elusive male, she realized that swimming lessons wasn't only thing she wanted from Zero Kiryu.

_What is Zero to me?_

Her hand connected with a hard slap across the back of the boy's head, and her giggle sounded throughout the area around them as well as his grunt of irritation when his body bent forward from the force of the playful hit.

_Zero is the boy I want to cherish.__  
_  
She smiled from the heart, and his eyes grew soft.

"Oi' when's the next lesson!"

"What do you mean 'when's the next lesson?!'"

* * *

******Author's Note: **Please review and tell me what you think. This is the first Zeki I've ever posted, and honestly this pair is my second favorite in Vampire Knight, so I hope I gave it justice. Anyway, this was inspired by UnbrokenCircleOfFaith, and I hope it pleases her, as well as any other readers.


End file.
